Shanghai Launches 2025 Key Technology R&D Plan for New Energy Projects, Including Hydrogen Energy Technologies

On May 21, the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission announced the 2025 Key Technology Research and Development Plan for “New Energy” project applications. The areas of focus include: green fuels, renewable energy, new storage technologies, and new power systems. Within the green fuels sector, the plan emphasizes several key technologies, including:

• Electrocatalytic synthesis of ammonia
• Development and mass production of high-performance membrane electrodes for proton exchange membrane water electrolysis
• Key materials and high-power stack design for anion exchange membrane water electrolysis
• Small fuel cell systems with high power and energy density
• Key technologies and applications for hydrogen internal combustion engines in marine power systems
• Key technologies and applications for methanol marine power systems in inland shipping

The Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission stated that this initiative aims to implement an innovation-driven development strategy, accelerate the establishment of a globally influential scientific and technological innovation center, and advance the development of critical technologies in the new energy sector.

Below are the main areas of focus for the project applications:

1. Green Fuels

1.1. Electrocatalytic Synthesis of Green Fuels

Research Content: Develop high-catalytic activity electrode materials for the electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and related electrolyzer technologies, creating an industrial technology system with pilot verification.

Assessment Indicators: Establish a pilot system for the electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide to SAF, achieving reaction selectivity >65% and total carbon dioxide conversion rate >90%.

Funding Duration: From July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2028. Funding will be provided on a competitive basis, with support for up to two projects with different technical routes, each receiving no more than 3.5 million yuan. The ratio of self-raised funds to requested funding must be at least 2:1.

1.2. Key Technologies for Direct Air Carbon Capture

Research Content: Develop new high-performance carbon dioxide adsorbents for direct air capture and modular carbon capture systems.

Assessment Indicators: Propose and demonstrate a scalable direct air carbon capture system with a total energy consumption of ≤18.0 GJ/tCO2 and an energy conversion efficiency of ≥15%.

Funding Duration: From July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2028.

2. Renewable Energy

2.1. New Photovoltaic Cell Preparation Technology

Research Content: Develop high-throughput preparation and characterization technologies for perovskite photovoltaic materials.

Assessment Indicators: Establish a collaborative research platform for perovskite photovoltaic research with a target efficiency of ≥23% for single-junction cells.

Funding Duration: From July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2028.

3. New Storage Technologies

3.1. High-Performance Flow Battery Technology

Research Content: Innovate in the preparation of vanadium electrolyte and carbon felt electrodes for high-performance flow batteries.

Assessment Indicators: Develop and demonstrate MW-level applications of all-vanadium flow battery systems with an energy efficiency of ≥80%.

Funding Duration: From July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2028.

4. New Power Systems

4.1. Key Technologies for Urban Power Systems

Research Content: Investigate the precise forecasting and decision-making technologies for multi-energy coupling virtual power plants.

Assessment Indicators: Develop a virtual power plant intelligent control platform capable of integrating over ten distributed resources.

Funding Duration: From July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2028.

All applicants must be registered entities in Shanghai capable of project implementation. The application period begins on May 29, 2025, and ends on June 18, 2025. Applications will be assessed through varying methods depending on the focus area.